The ideal result is Northeast Asia and the Korean Peninsula free from nuclear weapons, confrontational divisions lines and the architecture of military political confrontation, a Russian diplomat says

SEOUL, October 27. /TASS/. North Korea’s nuclear problem can be settled only on condition of general de-escalation of military and political tension in Northeast Asia, Russian Ambassador At Large Grigory Logvinov told TASS on Tuesday.

Logvinov is taking part in a three-day forum of the Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Initiative (NAPCI) in Seoul.

"The settlement of North Korea’s nuclear crisis depends on the will of all the parties. The experience of the six-party process and its four-party predecessor demonstrates that the nuclear problem has not emerged out of the blue. It has its roots, its nutrient that had let it grow to the current scale," he said, adding that until the real causes of this difficult situation are established "no right treatment can be prescribed."

"Our diagnosis is as follows: this problem can be settled only in the context of general military and political de-escalation in Northeast Asia. Not declarative but real, practical de-escalation that will remove security concerns," the Russian diplomat stressed. In his words, the problem is not only in North Korea, since each of the regional countries has its own concerns that require "a common denominator" to be eased.

"It doesn’t mean that Russia suggest the nuclear problem be put off for long," he said. "It should be two parallel, convergent processes that are to finish at one point. The ideal result is Northeast Asia and the Korean Peninsula free from nuclear weapons, free from confrontational divisions lines, free from the architecture of military political confrontation and, on the contrary, having the architecture, institutions and mechanisms of peace, security and cooperation."